Channel 4 has The Snowman, the BBC has the Queen’s Message. And we at Coffee House have another tradition: publishing the above video released in 1941. It was made by British Ministry of Information, narrated by an American for Americans in hope of enlisting American support in the war.
There are so many wonderful lines that it seems wrong to single any out. But here’s a passage that sticks out for me, as it is something history books tend not to convey – the feeling that a German invasion of Britain, with all the attendant horrors, was inevitable and that the only question was the timing.
“For the first time in history, no bells ring in England to celebrate the birth of the Saviour. No church bells are allowed to be rung in England. If they are, it will mean that the invader has come… At Christmas, England does what England has done for a thousand years – she worships the Prince of Peace.”
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